Safe Disposal of Electronics Important to Health

Saukville residents have the chance to clear out some of their electronic clutter and dispose of it in an environmentally sound way for free this weekend.

The village of Saukville is working together with Veolia Environmental services on the one day event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

"Recycling of these electronic materials is the environmentally responsible way of disposing of unneeded, excess or obsolete electronic equipment," said Roy Wilhelm, Saukville Village Director of Public Works. "The Village does not provide this service through its normal garbage and recycling services, it directs residents to the private sector."

Electronics recycling efforts have picked up in popularity in the past couple of years around Wisconsin since the signing of the Electronics Recycling law in October 2009. The law bans certain electronics such as computers, DVD players and printers from being trashed or dumped into landfills, and established a new state program called E-Cycle Wisconsin, helping with the collection of certain electronics.

Many electronics contain harmful materials including lead, mercury, chromium and other heavy metals, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. If improperly disposed of, heavy metals and chemical flame retardants can leach into the ground and affect the health of the environment and humans.

The DNR held a household recycling survey in 2006 and found that households in the state own approximately 3.5 million cell phones, 7.5 million TVs and 3.8 million computers. The survey didn’t include the millions of electronics found in businesses and institutions statewide.

While the E-Cycle Program is in the second year of existence, collections quickly grew in the first year. Nearly 350 electronics recycling sites were established in 65 of the state’s 72 counties by the spring of 2011. That’s compared to 2003, when a UW-Extension study found only 30 counties in Wisconsin offered electronics collection sites.

Items are being accepted from a variety of electronics categories on Saturday, including televisions, VCRs, DVD & Blue Ray players, printers, telephones, cell phones, counter top microwave ovens, stereos, electronic cameras, computer monitors, computer accessories and laptops.

Village residents can participate in the event by pre-registering at the , 639 E. Green Bay Ave., by no later than Friday. One pass for the event will be given out per household.

The drop-off site is at the , 649 S. Main St. There is a limit of two items per category for the event. The Village of Saukville and Veolia Environmental Services encourage residents to properly remove any sensitive information from computer hard drives or telephones before recycling them.